This invention generally relates to the use of displays for the control and maintenance of multicast distributions. More specifically, the invention relates to making information about multicast distribution accessible from a display of a multicast connection tree.
Multicast, point to multipoint, transmission is used when a destination address relates to a specified group of logically related users, or stations. A trivial case is when a group is composed of all the users and/or stations on a network. Although much work is in progress in developing optimal and/or efficient multicast trees for the multicast transmission, much information that is specific to each specific user and/or group is not readily accessible to potential users and/or administrators of the specific information. It would be advantageous that this information be available in a systematic and useful way. It is particularly useful to have this information accessible from a display of a multicast connection tree.
One specific, important problem is to provide a way for representing, managing and controlling large datastores of multicast information relating to resource utilization, connection management and service availability for multicast file distribution etc. Network administrators (and users) need tools to retrieve and view distribution status organized in a number of different formats (by user, by host, by connection type etc.), as well as simple means of forming, querying, adding and deleting information from the store.
An aspect of this invention is to use embedded representations to provide multilevel information display availability of multicast and multicast related information.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a display tree, which shows multicast information, and to allow bi-directional or multidirectional progression along the tree.
These and other aspects are attained with a method and system for providing multilevel information about multicast distribution. The method comprises the steps of generating a display, on a computer display screen, of a tree having a plurality of nodes, and embedding in the nodes information about the multicast distribution.
The tree may display information about one or more of a variety of embodiments of the multicast distribution. These embodiments include display of the members of each of a plurality of particular multicast groups, group and/or member connectivity, group parameters, group statistics control, monitor and maintenance; acknowledge and/or operational status, etc. As a specific example, the nodes may represent capacities of a defined embodiment.
Displays may allow users having particular privileges to add, delete and/or modify nodes. Geometric shapes, having geometric embodiments, may be used to represent the nodes; and the embodiments of these shapes may be used to represent predetermined embodiment of the multicast distribution. Also, a controller may be used to perform certain embodiments of the multicast distribution, and information about these embodiments of the multicast distribution may be embedded in the nodes.